Mike Eats… Berries!

The pigments that give berries their blue and red hues are also good for your health. Eating a diet rich in blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries and strawberries may help to reduce your risk of several types of cancers.

One cup of strawberriescontains over 100 mg of vitamin C and some magnesium, folate and potassium for only 53 calories. One cup of blueberries or cranberries offers a smaller amount of vitamin C, minerals and phytochemicals for only 83 calories and 1 cup ofraspberries offers vitamin C and potassium for just 64 calories. You can choose other berries with similar nutrition, such as loganberries, currants, gooseberries, lingonberries and bilberries. Most berries like strawberries are sweet enough to be served just as they are; however, here are some more ideas:

• Top a bowl of berries with low-fat yogurt and a your favorite chopped nuts
• Add strawberry slices to a bowl of whole grain cereal
• Sprinkle blueberries or strawberries on a salad
• Set berries in sugar- free JELLO, kids really love this too!
• Combine frozen berries with bananas and low-fat milk to make a smoothie

Beach Ready? It Takes More Than a Workout!

Lets’ face it, you only see your personal trainer at the gym; but what happens when you get home? It’s your responsibility to maintain the core work you completed by keeping your fat intake low so all your hard work can show through.

Take a moment to think about your typical day, and pick your worst habits. With summer and sports finals in full swing, your eating habits may change due to the season. Maybe for the summer it’s beer, salty snacks and pigging-out due to the kids being home for summer.

Work for a week on eliminating or even lessening one or two of these habits. The following week, move to your next weakest link. We only have so much willpower, a recent study in Psychology and Health shows. That’s why trying to break several bad habits at once can be overwhelming: You drain your capacity for willpower — what researchers call “self-regulation,” says study author Kathleen Martin Ginis, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario. This is one time when being too ambitious can backfire.

Don’t be Fooled by High SPF Sunscreens

Think your expensive sunscreen will protect your skin? Unlikely. That’s the latest advice from Environmental Working Group, a green health nonprofit that recently released its latest Sunscreen Guide.

Store shelves crowded with high SPF sunscreen ratings are mostly bunk, according to EWG. Many sunscreens that list high SPF protection don’t protect against UVA radiation. Many people, however, look just at the SPF number and assume they’re good to go out but still get burned. People also put on only about a quarter of the sunscreen necessary to get full SPF benefits, leading to more burned skin.

“In everyday practice, a product labeled SPF 100 really performs like an SPF 30 rating. What does this mean? That you really cannot get better protection than an SPF 30 and you must reapply every hour or two depending on your outdoor activity. In the meantime, opt for one of the 39 greener and safer sunscreens recommended by EWG and rate your current brand of sunscreen by clicking here: http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/